Authors: Stacy Claflin
Another shot sounded, this time louder.
Dorcas screamed, clutching her stomach. Macy saw a growing red spot on the middle of her clothes.
Luke ran to Dorcas and she fell into his arms. "You guys have to leave me here."
Tears filled Luke's eyes. "I won't, dear sister."
"You have to or this was all for nothing. Luke, you have to escape and get out of here."
"Not without you. I'll carry you."
Dorcas shook her head. "You need to escape." Her eyes closed.
"No!" Luke shook her. "Don't close your eyes. You can't give up—we have to get out of here."
Dorcas opened her eyes slowly, looking at Luke. "I
am
getting away. But it's going to have to be up to you to get yourself out."
"Please don't. You can't talk like this."
Dorcas closed her eyes and she went limp.
Luke shook his head, tears flying. He shook her again, but Dorcas didn't respond.
"Dorcas," he whispered. Her head turned and rested on his chest.
"We have to go," Macy said, reaching for his arm. "I'm sorry."
Luke nodded, wiping his tears. He set Dorcas on the ground with care. "I've got to get you out of here." He took her hand again, getting Dorcas' blood on Macy.
They rounded a corner and came face to face with Chester.
Reality
Alyssa sat up in bed, gasping for air and drenched in sweat. Another nightmare. That one felt so real.
Chad sat up. "Are you okay, Lyss?"
She shook her head, clinging to the comforter. "I had a horrible dream."
He scooted closer to her. "Tell me about it."
"Macy—she," Alyssa's lips shook, "was trapped somewhere, screaming."
Chad pulled her into an embrace. "It was only a dream."
"It didn't
feel
like one." She was shaking. "It was so vivid."
"Your subconscious is working out your fears, that's all."
"There was a fire. I think she's in danger, Chad."
"Shh." He held her closer.
Alyssa pulled away. "I won't shush. I really think she's in trouble."
"I wasn't telling you to be quiet. I was helping to calm you, like when the kids were upset when they were younger." Though it was dark, he was pretty sure she glared at him. "What else did you see in the dream? Anything to identify where she was?"
"There was a blaze. She was outside. That's all I know. The longer I'm awake, the less I can remember."
"Do you want me to turn on the news and see if there are fires anywhere?"
"How would that help anything?"
"Let's say that somehow you two are communicating, it could help us find her. Think about it, Lyss. It's winter. There aren't likely many fires. It's not like in the summer, when there are a lot of wildfires. In the summertime, a dream like that wouldn't be helpful. But now, it could be."
"So you believe me?"
"Of course." Chad wasn't sure that he did, but he wanted her to know he was on her side. He helped her up and handed her a robe before putting on his. They went into the bonus room and he turned the TV on, scrolling for the news.
They sat there, watching the ticker at the bottom of the screen as the reporter talked about the stock market. There was nothing about any fires.
Alyssa frowned. "There goes that theory, and you probably think I'm an idiot, to boot."
"Not a chance. Just because it's not on there, doesn't mean it didn't happen. If it's a small fire in an obscure location, it might never make the news. You practically have to burn a house down while trying to kill a spider to get the media to pick it up." Chad pulled out his phone and opened the browser app to search for fires. "Nothing online either. Sorry, Lyss."
Alyssa frowned. "We should get back to bed. I'm sorry I woke you up and made you get out of bed."
He clicked the remote, turning the TV off. "Nothing to be sorry for."
When they settled back into bed, Alyssa turned to him. "Do you think we'll ever get her back? Or do you think that girl from Clearview…?" Tears filled her eyes.
"No. I don't think it's her. There's no other evidence of her being there. All of her stuff has been found locally."
"I hope you're right. But they haven't found anything else in a while. It—"
"Get some sleep, Lyss. We both need it. The DNA results will be back soon enough. I'm sure they'll find that it's not Macy."
"But it's such a small town and there aren't any missing girls in Clearview."
"Remember what Detective Fleshman said? There are a lot of missing girls, but most don't make the news. Girls who—"
"Know what? You're right. We should get some sleep. I don't want to think about this right now. No statistics. Sleep is what's going to help us. That and positive thinking."
"That's right. Send her positive thoughts. Macy will get them." He kissed her forehead and held her until her breathing deepened. Then he rolled onto his own pillow, unable to get back to sleep.
It was so hard to know what to think. He wished that real life was more like those shows—instant DNA results. Why had their dentist office have to catch on fire? And why hadn't they kept their records online? It wasn't like it was the nineties or they were living in some third world country.
On one hand, he really just wanted answers. Then they could all move on with their lives, one way or another. Of course the last thing he wanted was for Macy to be dead, but at the same time he hated living in limbo. If she was gone, they deserved to know the truth. She wouldn't have wanted them living like this.
Tears filled his eyes. He hated thinking about what Macy would or wouldn't have wanted. It was the last thing he should have to think about. No parent should outlive their child. From the moment she was born, he felt like his heart lived on the outside of his body, running around. It was now split in two. One half here at home, safe and sound, and the other out there somewhere—hopefully still alive.
How had his life spun out of control so fast? He had been on the fast track to the career of his dreams with his blog picking up popularity so fast. Had he done something wrong? Was he to blame for any of this?
Was he being punished for spending too much time working, ignoring his family? He thought he had been working hard for them, so they could have a better life once it took off. The plan had been to be able to quit his job, and then he would have had all that extra time to spend with them.
It was clear now—too late—that he should have spent more time with them. He didn't know nearly enough about either of his children. That much had been made clear since Macy disappeared.
Or was he being punished for his relationship with Lydia? He had cut that off even though she kept turning up whenever he went out. Chad had done everything he could to make that right—short of fessing up, and that wasn't going to happen. He told Lydia it was over and he was working on his marriage. Alyssa loved him again and he her.
All they need was to have Macy back and everything would be as good as it had been years earlier when they'd had the dream life. He hadn't appreciated it then, and now he was paying for it. He looked up toward the ceiling and promised anyone or anything that might be listening that he would never take his family for granted again.
Dark
Luke yanked Macy's arm, pulling her away from Chester. Her feet stumbled underneath her, but she managed to get her footing and keep up with Luke. He ran so fast it was hard for her to keep up, but the adrenaline helped. Luke hadn't been kidding about his leg being okay. Either that or it was adrenaline, like Macy felt. Whatever it was, hopefully it would serve to keep them alive.
She heard Chester chasing them, but it sounded like he was having a hard time without his glasses. It sounded like he kept running into the corn stalks.
"Is your leg going to be okay?" Macy asked.
"Yeah, but we need to hurry."
"How far away is the feed thing Dorcas mentioned?" Macy asked.
"Not too far, but it won't be long until someone discovers the opening and blocks it. That's why we have to hurry."
They darted between corn stalks, turning down new rows constantly. Finally, they broke free. Luke stopped for a moment and looked around. He pointed right. "This way."
They ran toward some buildings that reminded Macy of the barn back at Chester's parents' farm. Her throat closed up even as she ran. If Chester planned to lock her up again, she would fight him until the death.
Luke led her past those and down a little path. "The fence isn't far off. Hopefully the opening is close."
They passed the barn-like buildings, this time around the back. Macy saw something unusual in the fence about twenty feet away, but even though her eyes had adjusted to the dark, it was hard to tell. They were far enough from the fire they'd started that she couldn't even see any sign of that, either.
"I think I see it," Luke said. He led her to the spot Macy had seen.
When they got there, it was a small opening, barely big enough for one person. "You go first. You're so tall, I'm worried you might not fit," she said.
"All the more reason for you to go first." He let go of her hand and extended his arm toward the opening. "Go."
"I want to make sure you'll fit first."
His eyes narrowed. "Go!" he shouted, looking angry. "If I have trouble you can help pull me through."
Macy jumped and then ran to the spot and squeezed through, scratching her hand and face in the process. When she was fully out she looked back in. "Come on."
"Sorry to speak harshly. It was the only way I could get you to go first."
"I don't care. Go through."
Luke looked away. "People are coming."
"Hurry!" Macy put her arm through and grabbed his hand. "We've got to go."
He slid his fingers through hers and slid about halfway through the hole.
"What are you waiting for?"
"I'm stuck."
"Are you serious?" Macy exclaimed. She let go of his hand and pulled on the fence. The wood wouldn't budge. "Hold your stomach in or something." She pulled harder on the plank and her hand slipped, bending a nail all the way back. She let out a cry of pain.
Worry covered Luke's face and he pushed against the wood. It buckled under his grip. He fell to the ground next to her, nearly knocking Macy over. She moved out of the way and grabbed his hands, helping him up.
Voices could be heard from the other side of the fence.
Luke put a finger up to his mouth and pointed to the right. He slid his fingers through hers and squeezed.
Macy held her breath as they tip-toed away. She could make out Jonah and Eve's voices yelling about the hole in the fence.
Luke and Macy continued walking quietly until the prophets' voices faded away.
He looked into Macy's eyes. "Now."
They both burst into a run.
"Listen for the others," Luke said. "I'm not sure who escaped, but we have a better chance at getting away with more people."
"What if we run into a prophet? Or someone else who wants to take us back?"
"We'll run from them obviously, but Dorcas said some of the kids got out. We have to find them."
Macy nodded and they ran in silence.
Something howled in the distance, sending chills down her spine. "Maybe we should just head for the highway."
Luke shook his head. "That's what they're going to expect. We need to go through the woods and find the world on the other side."
"Maybe." She didn't like the idea of going farther into the woods, but she wasn't going to leave Luke's side.
He squeezed her hand. "I'll keep you safe. I promise."
They ran in silence for a while and then Luke slowed down. "Do you hear that?"
Macy listened. All she heard were owls and the occasional coyote. She shook her head.
"I think I hear the others. This way."
They ran through the thick trees and bushes barely able to see. At least they were far enough away from the community that Macy couldn't hear the sounds of it any more.
"Where are the others?" Macy asked.
"Not far. Can you hear them now?"
"What am I supposed to listen for?"
"Conversation."
"I really don't know how you hear it."
"I used to stand guard at night for a while," Luke said. "I learned to listen for the smallest sounds."
Macy strained to hear something, but she couldn't hear anything beyond the running of their feet or the howling animals in the distance.
Luke slowed, forcing Macy to also. She could hear something—finally. She could barely hear hushed whispers. They crept toward the noise. There were some swishing noises and Macy found herself face to face with about half a dozen kids all wearing white. They were standing defensively, like they were ready to attack.